The Dudley Building Society is urging the lending sector to address self-employed lending gaps.

The mutual is launching a ‘2015: Year of the Self Employed’ campaign to end discrimination against the borrowing needs of the self employed when it comes to home ownership.

This call comes after news that Labour shadow ministers have recently met with business leaders in a bid to tackle a crisis in self employed access to mortgages and pensions.

Momentum had been gathering to address these concerns in recent months but the Dudley argues the fact remains that too many lenders continue to withdraw the welcome mat when it comes to self employed and contactor applicants.

Jeremy Wood, chief executive at Dudley Building Society, said: “The self employed community continues to face an uphill struggle when it comes to lending aspirations, whether through the purchase or remortgage marketplaces. There is a time when we, as an industry, have to say enough is enough. Why should this integral component of the UK economy continue to suffer and be discriminated against? Thankfully some lenders are beginning to respond positively, however the regulatory regime does not help in this respect by putting the onus on lenders to ensure a satisfactory ‘client outcome’ which has been translated into more cautious assessment.

“At the Dudley, we are proud of the fact that we underwrite cases individually to understand each case on its merit and not rely on a computer system providing automated responses. Of course every lender’s systems will be different but it’s now time for the whole industry to champion the needs of the self employed and contractor communities to offer them the flexibility and specialist support they deserve in 2015 and beyond.”